We took a cab to the central bus station in Vlore, which is nothing more than a handful of busses parked along the street with destination cities displayed on a sign in the window. It is located outside a small cafe where you can get a coffee or cold beverage for your ride, just keep in mind it is a three hour journey with no stops. We felt lucky that our bus departed on time, driven by a young man with an elderly copilot playing traditional Albanian music. The ride was terrifying at times; we were drifting at 100km through the narrow mountain roads with seemingly little regard for staying in one lane or passing around blind curves. The rest of the passengers, all local, took naps or relaxed being used to the insanity. We both agreed that we would sit further back on the next bus ride, seeing the journey up front was a white knuckle experience to say the least. Another interesting facet about the buses here as they seem to double as a delivery service. The post office doesn’t deliver, there are no mailboxes and parcel services are minimal. If you have a package delivered you will pick it up from a local carrier. Several stops along the way were made passing parcels to farmers or picking up goods to deliver elsewhere. The buses will pick up anyone that flags them down and will also drop you anywhere you want to go. Other than a cab ride this is the only way to get around the country so it is a necessity. After our journey we were deeply grateful to be back on our feet, gladly choosing to walk to our realtor from the random stop where we were dropped.

Our little apartment is bright and has an amazing patio overlooking Corfu, Greece and the deep blue waters of the Ionian Sea in the bay of Sarandë to the right. We spend the evenings taking in the morphing colors of sunset, each day different from the last. It is a small but vibrant town, built on a steep hill reminiscent of our time in Portugal. The streets are winding and often dead ended. There are a few stairways that cut through town, the best being the Martyrs’ Cemetery honoring those that died during WWII. It offers some of the greatest views of Sarandë; the grounds are beautifully maintained and filled with flowering bushes, palms and agave.

There is not a ton of stuff to do in Sarandë, but we enjoyed relaxing days and beautiful weather in May. Thankfully there were some rainy days, light enough to walk in and temperatures in the 20s (70s). The beaches are small, rocky and scattered throughout town. They are divided by the boutique hotels so each have their own tiny stake of costal real estate which sadly makes it impossible to walk from one to another. From what we learned from the locals, the summer brings hundreds of thousands of people. For us the advantage of being here in spring is that the town is manageable, things are opening for the summer rush but it is quiet enough to enjoy without hordes of tourists.